


broken pieces of a barely breathing story

by nicotinedaydream



Category: It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
Genre: Dennis Reynolds is a Bastard Man, Hanahaki Disease, M/M, One-sided Mac McDonald/Dennis Reynolds, Post-Season/Series 12, Unrequited Love, Why Did I Write This?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-14
Updated: 2020-12-14
Packaged: 2021-03-10 18:28:52
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,220
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28071729
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nicotinedaydream/pseuds/nicotinedaydream
Summary: What it says on the tin, folks. Dennis is a bastard man and Mac just loves him a little too much.Alternately titled: the one time Mac's love for Dennis finally kills him.
Relationships: Mac McDonald/Dennis Reynolds
Comments: 9
Kudos: 9





	broken pieces of a barely breathing story

**Author's Note:**

> I can't believe this hasn't been done before, just for the fact that these two are so fitting to the trope. This idea got me good a few weeks ago and now I'm a literal mess.

Dennis has been sitting at their reserved table in Guigino's for almost three hours, waiting for Mac to show up. Mac, whose original idea this was in the first place, who had planned this whole monthly dinner thing right from the very beginning. And now he was late.

"Fuck this," Dennis hisses, wine glass to his lips as he questions whether it's intentional or otherwise that the waiter hasn't come around with a refill in the last five minutes. Judging by the shrewd, discernible glares he's receiving from the other tables, the intentionality is likely. He chuckles darkly to himself as he remembers the man's face when he had first arrived at Dennis's table.

_"Oh, no. Not you again." The waiter's sunny, upbeat expression is knocked flat and he looks around, his eyes plaintive and weary. "That awful friend group of yours isn't coming in, too, are they?"_

_"Excuse me?" Dennis snaps. Obviously not, there are two chairs at this table._

_"Your—no. No. No. NO. I am not dealing with this."_

He has, in fact, if by "dealing with this" you mean he spends a few seconds shakily topping up Dennis's glass while refusing eye contact, before rushing off and only returning again when Dennis gets too loud with his raging complaints that the rich, fancy snobs in this establishment start muttering amongst themselves about the noise while shooting him dirty looks.

"What's a guy gotta do to get more free booze in this shithole, huh?" Dennis shouts, because there is no way he is paying his bill after tonight, nope. No way, in hell. He wriggles his glass in the air, glancing around the large room to find some damn quality service, _anyone_ , _goddamnit_ , but meets the displeased eyes of the many patrons who are trying to enjoy a nice, quiet meal.

Well, screw them! Dennis was meant to be doing the same thing. Leave it to Ronald fucking McDonald to ruin what was going to be a pleasant evening. Knowing Mac, the guy's probably arguing with Charlie over Fight Milk or something similarly ridiculous.

"Sir," a careful, calm voice says from beside him, and Dennis turns to find what looks to be the manager staring down at him. "I'm going to have to ask you to leave the premises immediately."

Dennis blinks dumbly, not moving an inch. Who the fuck is this asshole to kick him out, anyway? He'll leave on his own terms, thank you very fucking much.

" _Sir_ ," the manager repeats, this time more forceful. Jesus christ, will this dude just shut the fuck up already?

"Or what," he snarls. Not a question, either. This is a threat. Dennis Reynolds is a threat, and this will go only one of two ways. He's the Golden God, damn it.

Skipping over all the minor details, maybe his liquid courage had been the one talking too much, because Dennis ends up paying the bill and getting the hell out of dodge. No, he _isn't_ kicked out. He chooses to leave. It is _his_ choice, all right? Too much time waiting for Mac has made him realise he needs some fresh air to clear his head.

Now his head is cleared, though, time to face the maker of this entire goddamn fucking mess.

"Well, you'll be happy to know we're now _banned_ from Guigino's!" Dennis calls as he walks through the doorway and into the apartment. He shrugs his jacket, throwing it in the direction of the couch, about to start listing off the many reasons why Mac is a gigantic sack of shit, when he notices the flower petals.

Oh. _Oh_. You have got to be fucking kidding.

"Oh, are you goddamn serious right now!?" Dennis kicks himself for being so fucking stupid. Of course Mac would do something this… this _sentimental_. "You know, Mac!" he continues, voice quickly rising into a higher octave with anger as he follows the trail of dark red petals to Mac's bedroom. "I've just about had it up to _here_ with you _—_ "

Dennis's words fall right off the tip of his tongue once he sees the sight before him. He'd expected dimly lit candles, some soft and cheesy horse shit music playing in the background, Mac sitting at the foot of the bed with a rose between his teeth and big puppy dog eyes like a hopeless fucking romantic, not… not _this_.

Mac is sprawled across the bed, not lavishly, not even remotely sexy, he's just _there_ , like his body at some point gave in and this is where he ended up. His head is turned slightly into the pillow, form shaking in fitful tremors, and is that… is that _blood_?

"Mac, what the hell are you doing?" he spits, stepping forward.

Dennis notices, only when he gets closer, that the earache of a sound he's been hearing since he walked in is Mac wheezing. Wait, no, what? Why is Mac…?

"Hey, uh… buddy? Listen, c'mon, this is, uh… this is kinda weirding me out now," he says, anger slowly hedging its way into awkward confusion. Mac doesn't respond, just keeps breathing in short, raspy chokes of air that have Dennis questioning what in the fuck is going on.

"…D-… Den…"

Dennis hears the hoarse, almost abysmal note of Mac's voice before he watches Mac's body curl inward and seize as he starts gasping. It's something so unexpected that for a second, Dennis doesn't know what to do. He stands and watches his best friend's breath start to fail him, limbs all locked up, eyes squeezed shut and mouth…

"Oh god, that's fucking _disgusting_ , jesus—" Dennis feels like he's about to lose the dozen or so glasses of wine he drank at dinner when Mac starts coughing up bloody flower petals. This is, _g-god_ , sick, fucking _sick_ , what the fucking _fuck_ is happening, jesus fucking christ.

Dennis tries, despite his roiling stomach and the blood—oh, fucking _christ_ , the blood—to do something, even if something is just to lift and manoeuvre the heap of Mac's convulsing body so his lap is a pillow. His eyes glance toward the actual pillow that had supported Mac's head. What was once pure, silken white is splotched in red. It's harrowing and raw and fucking _real_ , like the heavy and strong but so weak and pathetic lump of person on top of him, and _goddamnit_ Dennis can't fucking breathe now either.

"What are… what are you doing to me, man? What the f-f- _fuck_ are you doin' to me, Mac, huh?!" Dennis knows he must sound hysterical, eyes bulging out of his head, shaking just as hard as Mac, probably _worse_ , so much fucking worse, as he desperately holds onto any last hope of sanity he has left. "Flowers! I mean, come on! Did it have to be… have to be…" he stammers, swallows, feels like _he_ is the one who is being suffocated.

Dennis doesn't know how long he sits there rambling. Maybe long enough to notice Mac is wearing black slacks, a white dress shirt and black leather jacket. Maybe long enough to notice the front of the white dress shirt is stained in wet blood and dried flecks of soiled flower petals. Maybe long enough to notice Mac isn't moving, isn't breathing.

Maybe not long enough to realise anything at all.

**Author's Note:**

> Did the last line scream unrequited love or what? Jesus, I'm going to hell.
> 
> Also hey, since I'm here... I'd like to think the flowers that are choking Mac are red amaryllis. According to the flower meaning, they are symbolic of splendid beauty. It is also used to indicate worth beyond beauty. I find it suits Dennis's Golden God persona and what Mac feels about him: that he's worth so much more than his good looks and "charm."


End file.
